Developmental Biology

We are a leader in the field of developmental biology research. Our teams were the first to treat preterm infants with exogenous surfactant and we developed strategies for reducing blindness in infants receiving oxygen therapy. By studying how environmental influences such as prematurity or oxygen exposure disrupt lung and eye development, new treatments were developed that greatly improve the quality of children’s lives.

Our current faculty have basic science and clinical research programs focusing on the following.

Epigenetic and genetic control of lung, diaphragm, heart, kidney, and hematopoietic system development

Early life exposures that disrupt organ development and promote disease later in life

Stem and other cell-based therapies to treat pediatric diseases

Research is funded by multiple sources, including the National Institutes of Health, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, The American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, and other local foundations.